Masquerade
by CharcoalFaith
Summary: 'He scared the hell out of me, but I knew he couldn't kill me, if he got too close I'd just let Lola out to play.' Vivian is 18 when she's kidnapped by the Joker. Will Batman save her? Or will she have to save herself? And who's chasing her? The Jokers beginning to wonder if he's bitten off more than he can chew. Joker/OC. *MATURE THEMES*
1. Homeward Bound

**Okay, This is the first chapter. There's no Joker as this is pretty much a prologue, it's basically introducing Vivian and giving a few hints as to her origins. I have three or four chapters already typed up and I'll be posting them soon. Enjoy.**

**CF.**

To say it was exhausting would be an understatement. For three days I worked like hell to cut a part of my personality away from myself and hide it in a box in my head. The barriers I put in place to keep it there took hours to construct.

Mostly they consisted of memories. Parts of my past that I didn't want to face or that would remind me of why that little bit of me was no longer aloud out to play. There were also a few riddles and brain teasers thrown in just to slow the whole process down.

But that was the point. I could break the barriers down and retrieve that part of myself and the process would be relatively simple, but it would also take a while. 10-15 minutes if my calculations were correct, which they usually there. The idea was that I couldn't call upon that part of myself by instinct or in panic. She couldn't make an appearance unless I wanted her to.

It'd been five years since I last set foot in this city, something the Gotham police department hadn't failed to notice. Today was the court hearing in which it was assumed I would be declared dead. Fun huh? My brother was in attendance, along with that slime ball that runs his company. I stretched my legs happily. Time to make an entrance.

"I'm sorry Mr Wayne, but your sister has been missing for five years and although you weren't present during the investigation I can assure you that everything possible was done to find her. If she was alive we would have discovered some trace of her. As it is we have nothing."

A police officer was talking nervously at the front of the court room, addressing Bruce who was stood facing him with his fists clenched. William Earle, the CEO of Wayne Enterprises and an absolute dick put a hand on my brother's shoulder and adopted a fake sorrowful expression.

"Look Bruce. I know you loved your sister, but there simply isn't anything to be done that hasn't already tried. We don't want your sister to be gone, I'd give anything to see her walk in here today but that just isn't going to happen."

With an introduction like that how could I resist?

"Really? Anything?" My voice carried across the court room and people turned in shock. As people began to recognise me questions were suddenly shouted from all sides. I could just make out Bruce's shocked voice carrying over the crowd.

"Vivian?" I smiled happily at him. Bruce left two years before I did, to see him again was a breath of fresh air and one of the reasons I'd returned to Gotham at all. He knocked his chair over in his haste to reach me and scooped me up in a bear hug, spinning me around and laughing uncontrollably.

"I think that sort of renders this hearing useless. Court dismissed." The Judge disappeared but the crowd in the court room remained. As soon as Bruce put me down a different set of arms engulfed me.

"Alfred!" I cried out, happy to see the old butler once more.

"Alfred, if you could perhaps bring the car around I think the press may be a little interested in us and I'd like to get Vivian home." Ah my brother. I'd missed him so much.

"Of course Master Wayne, I'll bring it around to the side entrance; there'll probably be a little less press around there." I grinned at him as he turned to go and Bruce and I spent the next few minutes talking to relative strangers who kept acting like we were the best of friends. How irksome.

"Come on Viv, we better get moving." Less press around the side. It sounded like a good plan except that all the reporters recognised Alfred and immediately threw themselves at the side entrance. I was glad I chose to look my best for today because I had my photo taken a couple of hundred times.

I was wearing a casual black dress with a flowing black skirt that reached my knees and heeled strappy black sandals. My hair had dried perfectly into spiralling waves and curls and after being reunited with Bruce my smile was easy and genuine.

Dozens of questions about my whereabouts were thrown at me in that short walk to the car and I knew Bruce would have similar questions as soon as we got home. The car journey mostly consisted of us both repeatedly catching each other's eyes and grinning happily.

"Where are we going? Wayne Manor's that way." I pointed down the turn off that we'd just passed. It was Bruce that answered me.

"Erm yes, about that. It sort of burnt down." I stared at him.

"What? When?"

"Three days ago, but don't worry, I'm rebuilding it I promise and until then Alfred has found me a penthouse apartment. It's got tons of spare bedrooms so pick one and we'll get it redecorated and stuff." I raised an eyebrow at him.

"How exactly did it burn down?"

"It's not exactly obvious at this moment in time what the cause of the fire was." The expression on my face didn't change.

"It wasn't me." He almost squeaked and I laughed at him before looking seriously at him.

"You better had rebuild it Bruce, that home is our heritage. Only this time can there be a swimming pool?" He grinned at me.

"Now we're talking." He told me and I could almost hear Alfred's eyes rolling in the front of the car.

Bruce's apartment was all swank and luxury. I instantly loved it.

"Right, you can pick a room, sleep, watch a movie, shower, anything but tomorrow I want to talk okay Vivian?" I stared at my brother.

"I'd rather just do it now." He nodded and gestured towards the kitchen table and we sat. Alfred placed a glass of orange juice in front of each of us and a plate of pastries in the middle of the table before making to leave.

"Come back Alfred, you deserve to hear this." I called out to him and he returned and pulled up a chair.

"When I left, I was a stupid twelve year old that thought her life was terrible. I didn't consider what it would do to my loved ones or what the hell I was going to do once I was outside Gotham. It was stupid. My only excuse is that I was 12." I turned to Bruce.

"What was yours?" He simply shrugged at me. I carried on with my story.

"My brother had disappeared, my parents were dead and all I had left was Alfred and Rachel. So being the self absorbed little girl that I was, I ran away. No I wasn't kidnapped, I just left. It was surprisingly easy. I had a little money enough to get a train to the airport. From there it was all luck; I managed to sneak on to a flight to the UK by pretending to be a part of a large family group."

"That worked?" Bruce sounded disbelieving which was a little annoying because this part of my story was actually true.

"Surprisingly, yes. We landed in a city called Liverpool and from there I snuck on board a ferry to Ireland. That was much easier because all I had to do was hide in a car. After that I just ended up wandering for a while until a family took me in. I'd been with them since then when it was announced on the news that billionaire Bruce Wayne had returned to Gotham. At that point I packed my bags and returned home."

"That's hardly the full story Miss Vivian." Alfred's steady voice brought me back to reality.

"I'm sorry Alfred but that's all you're getting. That part of my life is over now. I'm sorry for putting you through such worry over me but I can promise it won't happen again. I'm not going anywhere. Gotham is my home and God knows I've missed it." It was Bruce's turn to speak up.

"Alright, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, but know this; there are certain parts of my absence that I won't be sharing with you either. This isn't because I'm petty it's because some parts I just want to keep to myself so I respect your privacy Viv because I feel the same way." I smiled at him in thanks.

"How long have you been back in Gotham?" I decided to answer Bruce's question honestly.

"Maybe four days."

"Maybe four days? Why didn't you return sooner?"

"I was plucking up the courage I guess. It all seemed a little scary."

"Wait, four days? That means you were here when the toxin was spread about the city! Were you okay? What happened?" Bruce suddenly looked really worried.

"I was fine, not much happened where I was." Oops, that was a complete lie. A lot of things happened.

_Flashback_

_Gotham City. The Narrows to be precise, actually I'm not sure if that's technically part of Gotham, being a separate island and all. Anyway, that's not really the point. The point was that I was back. Back home. Almost. I'm not making much sense am I? I do apologise, that's been happening more and more often recently. I had better just get on with the story._

_I looked around at the filthy streets and the druggies in the corner and raised an eyebrow. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to return. There were certainly better places to bury oneself and begin again than Gotham city. But what the hell, home was home and despite the filth and the poverty I was still glad to be back._

_I glanced up at Arkham Asylum before hurriedly passing by the gate and covering my face with my hair. For the next few days that was the aim of the game. Don't get noticed, don't get recognised and whatever the hell you do, don't get thrown into Arkham. When you're me that's easier said than done._

_I had to lie low for three days tops while I sorted out a few personality traits that would otherwise get me thrown into the loony bin. Simple, then I could go home, start my life again and actually live for once instead of just surviving. _

_I reached the bridge to central Gotham just as the police decided to raise them up, completely isolating the Narrows. This wasn't good. I whipped around and ran towards an officer that was supervising the operation. I ensured my blonde hair covered my features and caught his attention._

"_Excuse me Officer but what's going on?"_

_He turned to look at me, sweating profusely._

"_I'm sorry ma'am that's confidential; I assure you that the situation is completely under cont-"_

_I cut him off before he could insult my intelligence any further._

"_Sir I can plainly see that the situation isn't under control or you wouldn't be raising the bridges. Look at me. I'm not scared, I'm not stupid, I'm calmly asking you what the issue is and I would really appreciate some honesty. I assure you I'm not going to run off in a mad panic."_

_He looked at me for a moment._

"_It's the prisoners of Arkham, they've escaped."_

"_How many?" I asked._

"_All of them ma'am." The man looked like he was about to collapse in fear and I realised I would get nothing more out of him so I walked away quickly, disappearing into the maze of alleys._

_I figured I could help. One last bit of fun wasn't going to hurt before I locked that part of me away in my pretty little head. I grinned manically. One more game to win, then I got to retire back to my old life._

_One thing about the Narrows is that it really lives up to its name. Narrow alleys lead to narrower alleys in a confusing maze that no one could navigate if they weren't Narrows born and bred. I wasn't familiar with it but luckily I didn't intend to escape the labyrinth in that manner. _

_I found a small corner and stripped down to my underwear before tugging open my bag and strapping Kevlar pads to my torso and thighs. Next I pulled out a simple black t-shirt and black high waisted jeans which quickly covered the pads. I laced up my military boots and pulled on a pair of simple black leather gloves. I hadn't gone to all the trouble of concealing my identity only to leave my prints at what would become one massive crime scene._

_Finally I set about concealing knives and the odd small gun upon my person before I zipped up the almost empty bag and threw it over my shoulder. I looked up at the night sky and let that manic grin cover my face once again. Game on._

_I jumped high, my fingertips catching a thin ledge in one of the walls surrounding me. I pulled my legs up high and using said wall as leverage, somersaulted backwards onto the opposite roof. I let out a ringing peal of laughter at the joy of such an action and began running in the direction of Arkham, jumping from roof to roof enjoying the wind in my hair. _

_My euphoria was short lived as I noticed a gas creeping towards me and the moment I smelt the sickly scent I knew we were in trouble. The double bloomed blue poppy grew on the slopes of the Himalayas and when burnt produced a hallucinogenic gas. I'd been inoculated a few years back but the population of the Narrows was about to get a little crazy. I doubled my speed, the manic laughter silenced as I pushed forward, desperate to help._

_Finally I jumped down and landed in front of a guy in an orange jumpsuit. Judging by the previously mentioned jumpsuit, the manic look in his eyes and the knife in his hand I think it was fair to guess this guy was one of Arkham's fine residents. He lunged at me but it was simple to sidestep him, break his arm and knock him out with a quick hit to the base of his skull._

_I moved on, running steadily towards the source of the gas. It appeared to be coming from the water supply which confused me greatly. I swung around a corner only to swing right back again eyes wide._

_I had not just seen that. That was not Ra's Al Ghul, that couldn't be Ra's Al Ghul. I peeked around the corner. Crap, it was actually him. Like the real him. Not that pawn he pretends is him. I looked again, this time my attention drawn to a machine he was in the process of moving. My blood ran cold._

_Ra's Al Ghul at somehow got his hands on a microwave emitter. When placed on the right frequency I'd seen what that could do to human flesh. It wasn't pretty. As it was he appeared to be using it to vaporise the water supply so I could probably assume the toxin was in the water supply. Brilliant._

_I debated my options. If that spread to the city the people would be driven mad by fear. I couldn't let that happen. My brother was there. The only family I had left. So I had to stop them. How? With all the bridges cut off his only option was the monorail so I had to get on that train. But he was surrounded by men. I could take maybe three of the League of Shadows on my own but with Ra's Al Ghul there I didn't have a chance._

_The answer to my problem arrived in the form of an idiot wearing a bat suit. Don't ask. I'd heard of the Batman, who hadn't? But to see him in the flesh I was struck by how idiotic he looked. I shrugged it off. Help was help; I had no time to be choosey. _

_He took care of the lackeys so I rain flat out towards the train, not bothering with the League of Shadows ridiculous pulley system I leapt up one of the supports and climbed quickly up to the train. I slipped in through an open window and found myself in a carriage behind the microwave emitter and the self righteous assassin. _

_Remembering that this was my last chance for a bit of fun I pulled my iPod out of my bag, led on one of the benches with my head dangling off the edge and my legs going up the wall and picked out Greenday's 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' As I felt the train began to move I began to sing along happily._

"_My shadow's only one that walks beside me, my shallow heart's the only thing that's beat-" I stopped as the assassin stepped into my view and barely suppressed a giggle at the image he must be seeing. _

_A beautiful 17 year old girl, with unruly blonde curls and deep blue eyes, dark makeup, black form fitting clothes and a killer smile. Led almost upside down on a train, singing as the world went to hell around her. I imagine I was quite a riddle._

_I pulled an earphone from my ear._

"_Yes?" I asked him in my most innocent voice. He looked startled._

"_What are you doing here? How did you get on here?" He was getting angrier but I figured I had time for one last dig before he pulled a gun on me._

"_This is public transport pal. Public. As in anyone can use it." I flashed him a grin and went to replace my earphone; I'd forgotten how much I loved this song. He pulled a gun and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was about to pull the trigger. _

_I twisted sideways as the shot rang out and the bullet buried itself in the chair where my head had been a fraction of a second ago. Straightening up I hit the catch on his gun causing the magazine to fall out and I kicked it away quickly. The look of surprise on his face was priceless. _

"_Now honey, that wasn't very nice. And it's only the first date, tut tut."_

_Using the handles on the ceiling as leverage I kicked him hard with both legs, one hitting him in the centre of the chest the other in the neck. He went flying backwards but grabbed my ankle as he went causing my arm to wrench out of its socket as I attempted to maintain my hold. _

_I gritted my teeth against the pain and while he struggled for breath I concentrated on pushing my shoulder back into the joint. I let out a scream of pain then a sigh of relief as my arm became functional again._

_Unfortunately he was quicker than me; grabbing me by the hair he hoisted me to my feet before placing his hands around my neck. This man was a professional; he wasn't going to waste time strangling me when it was much quicker and easier to break my neck. I moved fast, flipping backwards, breaking his hold and forcing his arms out wide. I yanked a knife from its hiding place beneath my waist band and thrust it towards his unprotected chest. _

_He blocked it though and the knife caught his arm, drawing blood and causing him to curse._

"_Who are you? Why are you here?" He looked at me with a furious expression and I backed up a few paces before answering him._

"_I'm Lola, I guess. But I won't be for long. And as to why I'm here I'm just passing through. How about you? What's your beef with Gotham?" He looked confused. In his defence I hadn't really made much sense._

"_My beef?"_

"_Your problem, what's your problem with Gotham?" He looked at me warily. _

"_The city is corrupt; the people here have no life. There system is irreparable and the people irredeemable. It must be allowed to die." I stared at him for a moment before I began laughing manically._

"_Did you consider, in all your wisdom that perhaps that was simply not your decision to make? People chose to live here my friend, if they don't like it they can always leave."_

"_What those people down there lead aren't lives. They'd be better off dead."_

"_That's probably not the way they'd see it mate. If it was they'd probably have jumped off a building already. Gotham has a surprisingly low suicide rate. Why? Because we like it here. We're all seduced by the dark city, my question is, how does this affect you?" the look of shock on his face was laughable._

"_I cannot sit by and let innocents suffer."_

"_Oh yeah, because forcing them to tear each other to pieces won't make them suffer at all." Note the sarcasm here. I knew before we engaged in this argument that I wasn't going to change his mind but it was fun to rile him up and challenge his views. His response went straight over my head as I concentrated on the microwave emitter behind him._

"_Hmm. I prefer peanut butter personally." It was a distraction technique I'd picked up a while back. You say something random and they get confused, then you kill them, or in this case, vault over them and examine the deadly machine behind them. _

_I had seconds before he pulled me away but it was enough for me to determine that there was no actual way of stopping the machine. Not without me going inside it which didn't seem likely considering that I didn't bring a saw with me._

_I was debating my options and he was almost within punching distance when Gotham's resident bat decided to make an appearance. I admired his dramatic entrance of smashing through a window before deciding to make myself scarce. I highly doubted my morals and those of the Batman were compatible. Besides, there was obviously something wrong with the man's head. _

_I pulled a gun and shot the window behind me before turning to the Batman, face still hidden by my hair and giving him a mock salute._

"_Good luck!" I shouted at him before flipping backwards out of the window and catching the rail just beneath it. A few more elaborate jumps and catches later my feet hit solid ground and I straightened up. What can I say? Free running has its perks._

_Looking around myself I realised I wasn't actually sure of my location. I shrugged. What did it matter? I pointed my finger in a random direction._

"_That way looks fun." My manic grin made a final appearance as I bounded off._

"Hey Vivian! Hey! You with us? You sort of spaced out on us." Bruce was clicking his fingers in front of my face,

"Sorry, just thinking about stuff. Can I get that bed I was offered now?"

"It's just down the hall on your right." I thanked Alfred and wandered off.

Unknown to me in the room I'd just left the conversation continued.

"I'm not even sure I want her in Gotham Alfred, it's just not safe here. Gordon gave me this to follow up a few nights ago. There's a psychopath that leaves these as calling cards. He calls himself the Joker and from what I've seen of his work he's not going to stop at robbing a few banks."

"Look Master Wayne, as much as I hate to sound snobby, this is highly unlikely to affect her. She moves in the highest social circles and this man and other men like him are unlikely to get anywhere near her. That's just the way the world works."

"I know, but I can't help but worry. What's she been doing for the past five years Alfred? Do I even know her anymore?"

"Maybe not, but she's here to stay and you might find it more beneficial to stop worrying about the past and start thinking about the future. You may not know her anymore Master Wayne but you've got all the time in the world to befriend her again. Once you do you may find that she's not as different as you thought."

By the time my brother and Alfred had finished their conversation I was already fast asleep in a king size bed. Like I said, the past few days had been exhausting.

-xCFx-

**Aaah, aren't prologues beautiful. Actually they're a little boring to write so I threw in some batman begins to spice things up. Have fun.**

**CF.**


	2. Smile or Scream?

**This one's a little shorter, in fact they don't really have a consistent length, sorry about that. Anyway, we finally meet the Joker so that's a plus. Enjoy my little readers, Enjoy! (insert evil laugh)**

**CF.**

I'd been back for ten months. At first the media had a field day, but finally they realised that I simply wasn't going to tell them where I'd been and they could find no trace of my exploits they let it drop.

To say things had improved would be an understatement. Oh things were far from perfect, they were very far from perfect but they were a whole lot better than they were less than a year ago. The new DA Harvey Dent was slowly but surely ripping the criminal underworld to shreds, one lowlife at a time. Helped along by the city's resident bat.

The only thing I could find that hadn't improved was Bruce. It was Rachel not me that was the problem. Bruce and I got on brilliantly and I found him to be mostly the way he'd been before, charismatic, funny and annoying as hell. Unfortunately, him and Rachel had drifted apart and she was now dating Harvey Dent, something I knew hurt my brother terribly.

I yawned happily and scooped up my laptop before flopping down on my bed. I was about to check the news when an alert flashed up on my screen.

_SECURE CHANNEL DETECTED_

I quickly opened the communications to enter the video call and a familiar face appeared on the screen.

"Lola, thank god, how many computers have you got in that apartment?" I laughed happily.

"Marcus, long time no see, to what do I owe the pleasure? Oh, and stop calling me Lola."

"Oops, sorry _Vivian_, You know how I owe you a favour?" I grinned at him.

"More like a hundred favours but do continue."

"Yeah, well anyway, you know the DA?" I sat up a little straighter.

"Harvey Dent, what about him?"

"Word on the street is that Sal Maroni is having him killed." My blood ran cold. I knew Marcus from the old days, he relocated to Gotham shortly after I returned but we hadn't had any contact. Marcus was one of the few connections from my past that I trusted and as a rule, if there was something to be known, Marcus Stevens would know it.

"How?"

"You heard of Rossi?"

"The guy that's testifying against him? Yeah I've heard, a good friend of mine is working on the case with Dent."

"Yeah, well he aint going to testify that's for sure. So far as I know, the plan is to smuggle a gun on to Rossi. Rossi takes the fall for Maroni and shoots Dent. Which I'm guessing is something you don't want to happen, hence me talk

ing to you."

I thought it over quickly, I'd been out of the game for almost a year now and I wasn't about to get back in it for a simple operation I could direct from here. I could simply have someone take this Rossi out but then the entire of Rachel's case would collapse instead of just some of it. It would be most advantageous to let the attempt continue but just to ensure that it failed.

"Who's smuggling in the gun?"

"A bent cop on Maroni's pay role, don't know exactly who." I sighed at Marcus' answer. He did know, he knew everything but I wasn't going to push him for it he obviously didn't want trouble from the mob. The only reason he was doing this at all was a favour for me.

"Can you get access to the gun before they give it to Rossi?" I asked Marcus while I chewed my lip.

"Probably, but I can't stop them giving him the gun, they'll have my head for that."

"I don't want you to stop them, I just want you to make sure it jams, think you can manage that?"

"I think so, there's a guy I know in the Narrows that's amazing with his hands he'd need less than 20 seconds with it." I watched him think it over.

"Consider it done. I guess that's 99 favours I owe you know right?" I smiled at him.

"Thanks a lot Marcus; it was good to see you again."

"For you beautiful? It was a pleasure." I rolled my eyes at him, he always was a shameless flirt.

"See you around Marcus."

"I sure hope so." The video call ended and I sighed in relief. That part of my life was over but contacts still called me up from time to time with warnings or requests. The requests I mostly refused as they usually involved actual fighting, something I couldn't do to save my life anymore. Literally.

"Miss Vivian?" I looked up to see Alfred standing at my door with a tray of biscuits and a cup of tea.

"You wanted me to remind you to begin getting ready for the fundraiser tonight Miss, as your brother isn't attending you need to be present to uphold the family name." I sighed annoyed.

"Attending parties and pretending I like the people there is not my idea of upholding the family name Alfred. Where is it again?"

"Ten minutes away ma'am at the Indigo Club."

"What self respecting overly rich person holds a fundraiser at a club? I thought these things always went on in people mansions so they could show them off to their neighbours. Now I have no idea what to wear, do I just wear a going out outfit or am I still obligated to wear a ball gown?"

"I have no Idea Miss, perhaps it'd be best to wear one of you knee length dresses, they'd fit in in both atmospheres." I smiled up at him.

"My dear Alfred, when you took the job as Butler all those years ago did you imagine this was where you'd end up? Advising a spoilt teenager on the best choice of clothes?"

"You're not spoilt Miss Vivian, I don't know who you compare yourself to, but in my book, a girl that donates 80% of her income to charity, helps out at a children's home three times a week and constantly attends fundraisers that she absolutely hates is not spoilt." I laughed happily at the man who was like a father to me.

"Thanks Alfred, I think you've managed to boost my confidence once again." I finally pulled myself off my bed and approached the walk in wardrobe to begin rummaging through my many clothes.

"How about this one?" The dress in question was a new one that Bruce had bought me a few weeks ago. It was a simple black skin tight dress that ended just before my knees and had a layer of lace stretched over the top. It had only one arm that was lace and would show my ivory skin beneath it. The neckline was modest but the tight fit showed of my large curves anyway.

"I'm sure it will look lovely Miss Vivian, I'll leave you to get ready."

Being the independent soul that I was, I insisted on driving myself. My black Lamborghini Gallardo was a coming home present from my brother and as well as being my all time favourite car, tonight it had the added benefit of matching my outfit perfectly.

As I stepped out of the car the many photographers began snapping pictures of me, and at the risk of sounding arrogant I was worth taking a picture of.

My black stilettos were followed out of the car by a pair of slender, ivory legs that led up to lace clad hips, generous curves and a mane of brilliant blonde curls. My hair was naturally blonde and although it wasn't platinum like when you dye it, it was a natural honey shade that dye just couldn't seem to replicate.

My curly hair framed my heart shaped face perfectly. As usual I had teamed smoky eyes with natural lip balm and my dark blue eyes danced as I tossed my keys to a valet and posed for the cameras in true Wayne style.

Finally entering the club I headed straight to the bar.

"I'll take a bitter lemonade with a lot of ice please." Once I had my drink I began circulating through the room, chatting to people I hated and whom I knew hated me as though we were the best of friends before moving on.

The only way I got my kicks at these parties was by laughing at the filthy looks thrown at me by other women when they thought I wasn't looking. I was a Wayne, jealousy came with the name. Slightly less amusing were the looks of appreciation thrown at me by guys. I was still a virgin, and as I was still 17 I was pretty happy about the fact.

"Hello Miss Wayne, are you enjoying the evening?" I turned around to find Lucius Fox talking to me. For the first time since I entered the club the smile that graced my face was genuine.

"Mr Fox, how nice to see you, I must say, I'm enjoying the evening a whole lot more now I've bumped into you, if I have to endure one more conversation about Gucci I swear to God I will cry." He smiled back at me.

"I see the conversation of Gotham's richest has not changed much since I was last in their presence." I laughed happily.

"How is the company Mr Fox? I hope Bruce isn't making a nuisance of himself."

"Not at all, in fact he's recently suggested a joint venture with a company situated in Hong Kong that I actually think will be very beneficial. We're in the process of discussing the details but I'm very hopeful that it'll help Wayne enterprises to grow in the Global market."

My response was interrupted by someone beginning their own conversation with Lucius and I was instantly annoyed about losing the company of the only interesting person in the room. Looking down at my glass I sighed when I saw it was empty and made my way towards the bar to get a refill.

I never got my refill, halfway there gunfire cut through the air and the guests immediately began screaming and ducking. I wheeled around in the direction of the gunfire whilst settling into a fighting crouch. I knew it was useless. I couldn't fight, my mind knew how but my body didn't.

"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight I found myself bored, so I thought to myself, where sounds fun tonight? And so I turned on the TV and this is what it showed. A fundraiser I thought to myself, well, me and my boys could do with some funds."

The Joker, Gotham's prince of crime was stood happily on a table with a machine gun in his hands. Intense eyes and a crazy grin were surrounded by messy clown makeup and he seemed to be enjoying the crowds fear.

" If you could please form an orderly line here and pass all money, jewellery and mobile phones to the gentleman ahead before proceeding to the bar area this can all be over much quicker. If anyone tries to fight, call the police or generally do anything stupid, errrrm," He glanced around for a moment before grabbing a girl about my age up from the floor and putting a gun to her head.

"Well she dies, your choice." The girl immediately began screaming and struggling, she was going to get herself killed. 'Shit' I thought before rising to my feet.

"Let her go, she's hysterical, she's only going to fight you." The Jokers eyes immediately found mine.

"Well well well, do you think you'd make a better hostage sweetheart?" He began dragging the girl in question towards me.

"Just let her go." I kept my words level and my voice calm. I showed no fear even though my heart was pounding and adrenalin was pouring through my veins.

"Now aren't you something? Do I get a scream? No? How about a smile? It can't hurt to give me one smile can it?"

He thrust the girl away from him causing her to fall to the floor where she lay in a sobbing heap. I looked from her back to him with an eyebrow raised. I took care when arranging my face into a grin to ensure that it looked just like my manic ones from a year back.

He looked taken aback by my smile, either he didn't expect to get one or he didn't expect it to be quite so gleeful. Suddenly he was right in front of me. He wrapped an arm around my lower back and pulled me flush with him, a knife flicked out from nowhere and he began sliding it down my cheek. He was holding it slightly wrong but I decided against telling him that.

"Aaaah, we look all calm and collected but when I'm this close your body gives you away." He leant in close to whisper in my ear.

"I can feel your heartbeat." I wasn't surprised; he'd crushed me so tightly to his chest that my thundering heart must have been hammering against him. He dipped his head down to my neck and inhaled.

"Mmmm, you smell good enough to eat." He whipped me around so my back was to him and the knife was now at my throat.

"What are you waiting for? Get on with it!" People began moving instantly, forming a rough line and passing their possessions to various men in clown masks. The Joker began trailing the knife down my side.

"Do you have a name little kitten?" He growled in my ear and I forced myself not to shudder or pull away.

"Vivian." My voice was a little shakier than I'd have liked but I was quite terrified to have him this close while I was completely defenceless.

"Vivian?"

"Wayne, Vivian Wayne." What I would give for a hunting knife right now.

"Aaah, so you're Gotham's darling sweetheart. Pretty billionaire that helps the homeless and gives all her money to charity. I wonder how much people would care if I killed you, would it break their spirits? I guess you're sort of a symbol of human goodness, so killing you probably wouldn't be nearly as effective as corrupting you. Tell me, have you ever killed someone?"

I couldn't help it, the question sent me laughing hysterically, the idea that I was a symbol or that I was good and pure has just so absurd that I couldn't help but laugh. Apparently this response wasn't appreciated by the Joker because I was spun back around to find him staring at me like I was crazy which in my opinion was completely hypocritical.

"Hmm, you're a strange one. I got a smile, what do I have to do to get a scream?" He pulled back his arm and punched me in the face; I went flying into the floor crying out in pain and shock.

"Hmm, that was almost a scream. Let's try again." He pulled back his leg to kick me but the front doors exploded and suddenly shouting filled the air.

"Gotham PD! On the floor! Everyone on the floor now!" The Joker crouched down over me and grabbed my face in a gloved hand.

"See you around Kitten, I'll be back for that scream." He jumped quickly off me and ran away through the panicked crowd.

"Vivian Wayne? Are you alright ma'am?" I looked up to see Lieutenant James Gordon, a good friend of Rachel's standing over me. I reached up to wipe the blood from my nose.

"Yeah, I'm fine, did you catch the Joker?"

"I'm afraid not, he escaped in the chaos." I sighed a little annoyed.

"Can I go?"

"Actually I'm afraid we have to take your statement, hostages of the Joker very rarely survive." I looked at him a little shocked.

"Wow, way to make me feel better."

Giving a statement took hours, Alfred arrived within minutes but Bruce only arrived a few minutes before I could leave. He scooped me up, and holding me tight he said to me.

"You are never ever leaving the apartment again, do you understand me? I swear to God if I had lost you to that freak I would have killed him without a second thought." I laughed lightly and hugged him back, relieved to be in the arms of someone I could trust as opposed to that psychotic murderer.

As we went to leave I thanked Gordon for coming to my rescue and he warned me to stay safe.

"The Joker is insane Vivian, he might get it into his head to come back and try and make you scream, be careful, please." I promised I would and Bruce and I headed home in my beloved car.

**Okay then, that's another chapter done, congratulations if you actually read the whole thing, it was a little tedious at the beginning.**

**CF.**


	3. Playing Referee

**Short and sweet this one, don't tell me I didn't warn you. No Joker either, more of a setup for the next chapter.**

**CF.**

I smiled happily at the Russian girl Bruce had brought along. Her stories of the Russian Ballet were actually rather funny, much better than the usual crap Bruce's girlfriends talk about.

Bruce had finally relaxed enough to let me leave the apartment and we were visiting a restaurant he'd bought recently. I think our trip out had less to do with a desire to try the gourmet food and more to do with the knowledge that Harvey Dent had booked a table for two.

"Rachel, fancy that."

"Yes Bruce, fancy that." Neither her nor Harvey looked particularly happy to see us.

"Rachel, Natasha. Natasha, Rachel." Natasha smiled shyly.

"Hello."

"The famous Bruce Wayne, Rachel's told me all about you." Harvey spoke up, while the two men were distracted I mouthed a quick 'I'm sorry' to Rachel who just smiled and shook her head at Bruce.

"I certainly hope not." I decided to intervene before things got childish.

"Bruce this is Harvey Dent." I elbowed him hard in the side and he grinned at me.

"Let's put a couple of tables together." I groaned, knowing this wasn't how Rachel had planned her evening.

"I don't know if they'll let us-" began Harvey, evidently looking for a way out.

"They should, I own the place." I shook my head defeated.

I spent the majority of the dinner trying to stop Bruce from attempting to score points with Rachel by bringing Harvey down, it wasn't working, she just seemed to be getting more and more annoyed. However, towards the end of dinner I saw my brother's respect for the new DA had grown rapidly.

"Well I'm sold; I'm going to throw you a fundraiser." I raised an eyebrow, it would appear that Gotham's White Knight had finally won over Bruce despite his claim on Rachel's affections.

"That's nice of you Bruce, but I'm not up for election for another three years." Harvey looked a little relieved at the fact, I didn't blame him, I hated fundraisers.

"I don't think you understand, one fundraiser with my pals and you'll never need another cent." I looked up at my brother quizzically.

"These people are our pals now? You know I can't stand the sight of them." Bruce laughed at me lightly before turning back to Harvey, I was suddenly struck by a brilliant idea.

"Wait, it's my birthday on a week on Tuesday and Alfred is forcing me to hold a party, we could combine the two. That way we both have someone to share the limelight with and I only have to spend one evening in the company of Gotham's rich and privileged." I was delighted with the idea.

"I couldn't intrude upon your birthday like that-" I cut him off before he could get any further.

"Are you kidding? This would be like your birthday present to me. The last thing I want is to be the centre of attention all evening, those people have the most limited conversation in the world. Also, this way Rachel won't be able to claim she's working, she usually uses any excuse to get out of coming to these things." Rachel looked at me exasperated.

"That's because I'm not actually invited to these things, you just try and drag me along." I laughed, it was true, but still, I hated those fundraisers.

"Sounds like a plan." Bruce had finally spoken up and I let out a sigh of relief, I had wondered if my brother would object to me sharing my birthday with Harvey, but I guess he knew just how much I hated those social gatherings.

**The next one is much longer, I promise.**

**CF.**


	4. Have a Heart

**Yay! Okay so this chapter's a biggie and there's a whole load of the Joker thrown in there, just for funzies.**

**CF.**

Thank God for Harvey Dent, not to mention James Gordon. The Mob. Pretty much all of it. They took down _the Mob_. It was amazing. I never thought it would be a government official that finally sorted out Gotham, I never thought it'd be someone playing by the rules, but that's what they did. It wasn't the Batman, it wasn't a symbol, it was ordinary men, and they were brilliant.

I yawned, I'd just woken up and I was watching the news in bed when Bruce decided to make an appearance, popping his head around the door.

"Oh good, you're awake." He grinned happily and I raised an eyebrow at him. My brother wasn't really one to be openly happy.

"What?" I asked him a little suspicious.

"Happy Birthday!" He bounded into my room holding a small wrapped box which he happily presented me with. I grinned and thanked him before ripping the paper off to reveal a small cardboard box. I opened it, only to find it empty. I looked at him quizzically.

"I couldn't actually wrap up your present but I wanted you to have something to open." He explained like this made all the sense in the world.

"So you gave me an empty box?" My brother made no sense. He started laughing.

"Yeah, well it seemed funny at the time. Anyway, your real present is just outside. I really thought about what to get you. I mean you're a billionaire, if you want something you can just go and get it so I didn't just want to get you clothes and jewellery and shoes. Don't worry, I got you those things anyway, they're in the lounge." I laughed at my brother and he continued.

"So I thought to myself, what would she really enjoy but wouldn't think to get herself. My first thought was a car but I already got you your Gallardo and I know that no car will ever compare in your eyes so that was a no go. So I settled on something you'd love but that I knew Alfred would hate." This stumped me, what had he got me?

Suddenly a noise cut across our conversation, something loud and unmistakable, a dog barking. My eyes widened, he hadn't. Had he? I jumped out of bed and wrenched open my door to find a very annoyed looking Alfred holding a dog lead. On the end of the lead was the cutest puppy imaginable. Chocolate brown and covered in curls with big honey coloured eye. I stared at him, not believing my eyes.

"A chocolate brown, standard sized poodle, without the ridiculous hair. Male, and I searched the city looking for a dog breeder that could guarantee me a stupid dog."

I looked back at my brother with adoration in my eyes. He must have paid so much attention, this was my dream dog. It had to be male, I loved poodles, but it had to be large, hence the standard size, I preferred the brown ones and I hated it when people styled their hair. But the most important thing was that it had to be stupid. Stupid dogs were so much more likely to love you, not to mention that they were so much more entertaining.

I reached out to touch the puppy but changed my mind and tackled my brother in a hug instead.

"Thank-you!" He picked me up and spun me around before setting me back on my feet. I kneeled down to the level of the puppy and unclipped the leash. The beautiful dog approached me cautiously and sniffed my hand before deciding I was trustworthy and licking me whole arm and moving on to lick my face.

I giggled happily as I stroked the soft fur and scooped him up, I snuggled him close to my chest and buried my face in his fur.

"Happy birthday Miss Vivian, I've made you pancakes for breakfast, they're waiting for you in the kitchen, although your puppy seemed very interested in them."

Still holding the dog I hugged Alfred with one arm and bounded off towards the kitchen. Passing through the living room I saw the massive pile of other presents my brother had bought me and I grinned happily. I had to live through my party tonight, but it seemed that my brother had managed to make up for that with the rest of the day.

Bruce took the day off from his usual exploits of annoying Lucicus at Wayne Enterprises, flirting with girls at various restaurants he owned and stalking Rachel. Unfortunately the evening rolled around far too fast and soon I had to get ready for the dreaded party.

My dress was a birthday present of Bruce. It was a floor length, forest green number, Strapless with a slit running up to my mid thigh it was made of the softest velvet.

I pinned my curly blonde hair up and added the emerald pins that went with it, I also sported an emerald snake necklace and bracelet along with beautiful drop earrings. The shade of green caused my eyes to look bluer than normal and they seemed to lose the grey tinge as I applied my usual makeup.

Stepping out of my room I did a twirl for Alfred who smiled and nodded at me.

"You look beautiful Miss Vivian, your brother has left purposely so he can make a dramatic entrance in what I assume is an attempt to impress Miss Dawes." I laughed, Alfred was probably right, it was a very Bruce thing to do.

I joined him by the elevator in waiting for the guests to arrive. To my delight it was Rachel and Harvey who arrived first and I greeted them both with hugs. Rachel looked me over and made me twirl for her.

"You look lovely Vivian, but that dress is far top grown up for you, in my eyes you're still about fifteen." I rolled my eyes at her but it was all in good sport.

They both wished me a Happy Birthday and I brought my puppy, newly named Theo out to show them before the other guests arrived. This caused Rachel to take back away slightly, evidently not a dog person but Harvey was very taken with him, and repeatedly scratched him behind the ears before Alfred instructed me to 'put the annoying puppy away'.

I hate a good 95% of the people in this room. The trust fund brigade as Rachel would call them. I hoped to God that ordinary people didn't think I was like these stuck up snobs who think they're so much better than everyone else because they were handed life on a silver platter.

I hissed angrily as I all but stormed away from a conversation about the Narrows, I glanced around the crowd but couldn't see Harvey, Rachel or Bruce. I was about to search for Alfred of Lucius when screaming came from the direction of the elevator.

"Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen. We are tonight's entertainment." There it was, that voice that I never expected to hear again except on the telly. The Joker was standing, bold as brass with a bunch of goons in _My House_. And he was eating my food.

"I only have one question; where is Harvey Dent?" He began pointing a shotgun at random guests before grabbing a glass of champagne, tossing most of it on the floor and drinking the rest.

"Do you know where Harvey is? Do you know where he is?" He began grabbing people's faces as he asked them.

"Do you know where I can find Harvey? I just need to talk to him about something, something little." He took hold of one of the board members faces, shaking his head with a gloved hand as he walked off.

"No." He answered his own question. My heart was racing along with the entire of the room and I could feel _that_ part of me shouting instructions, but I couldn't fight anymore, my body had forgotten how.

"You know, I'll settle for his loved ones, or Wayne, where is Vivian Wayne?" The crowd around me immediately moved, hiding me from the Jokers view. Perhaps I shouldn't hate them so much after all.

"We're not intimidated by thugs!" I cringed as a man spoke up, I didn't even remember his name.

"You know, you remind me of my father." The Joker reached up fast, wrapping an arm around the man's face and pressing a potato peeler to his lips.

"I hated my father!" I closed my eyes for a moment before stepping through the crowd and into pretty much the exact same situation as a fortnight ago.

"Let him go." He whipped around like a shot, manic black eyes finding mine once again.

"Hel_lo_ again Princess." He thrust the man away from him and began walking the short distance between us.

"Beautiful as you're looking tonight Kitten, what makes you think you can tell me what to do?" The way he talked was distracting, he stressed random vowels for no reason. I held my chin up.

"It's my house." I answered, looking him straight in the eye refusing to back down or show any weakness. The distance between us was almost nothing now.

Suddenly he pounced towards me, knocking me backwards to the floor. He landed with his hips straddling mine, one hand on my shoulder, the other wrapped around the back of my head to stop it crashing into the floor.

"Do you really think you're in control here Kitten? I expected a better reception after I came all this way just to hear you scream." He was heavier than I'd have guessed him to be and I counted myself lucky that he hadn't pulled out a knife yet. His hands trailed down my arms, pinning them to my sides and securing them in place beneath his legs. This left him with full use of his arms and me completely helpless beneath him.

"Aah, but I almost forgot, it's your birthday isn't it? I brought you a present and everything." I tried not to let my shock and fear leak through, a present from the Joker was not something I wanted to experience. Without moving off me he gestured to one of his henchmen and they brought over a messily wrapped box, the Joker set it down next to my head.

"Aren't you going to open it?" He seemed to find this hilarious as it was obvious that I couldn't. He reached over to open it himself to show a simple wooden box which he opened as well, tipping the box sideways so the contents spilled out next to my face.

I nearly threw up. A human heart, he'd wrapped up a human heart. It's not the actual heart that turned my stomach, I'd seen one before as well as much more horrific things. What really bothered me was how insane a person had to be to wrap up a dead persons heart and present it to someone as a gift.

"Aww, what's wrong? Don't you like it? I killed someone especially to get that for you, do I not get thanks? How about that smile again? Or a scream..." He seemed to get caught up in his own thoughts suddenly, pulling out the potato peeler like it was a habit and trailing it down my face.

"Alright stop." The voice rang through the room and for a strange moment I couldn't place it. Then it hit me, _Rachel._ Turning to face her would involve facing the organ lying next to me so I decided against it. The Joker had turned to look at her and the grin was widening on his face,

He stood up slowly, brushing himself down.

"Hello Beautiful." I made to stand up as well but he placed a foot on my chest and shoved me roughly back down to the ground.

"Stay on the floor." He growled at me. He began walking towards Rachel when I tried to stand again, I wasn't going to let him hurt my friend.

"I SAID STAY ON THE FLOOR!" The manic anger coupled with his boot forced me back onto the ground, this time I decided against trying to get up.

"You must be Harvey's Squeeze. Hmm? And you are beautiful." He began circling Rachel and I instantly felt sick, why did she have to speak up? If she got hurt because of me I'd never forgive myself.

"Well you look nervous, is it the scars? You wanna know how I got em?" He grabbed her by the back of the head causing her to struggle.

"Hey, come here." That was enough, I began to get up. He was not hurting my friend.

"One of the idiots in a clown mask pointed a shotgun at me.

"The boss told you to stay on the ground." I glared at him, a year ago I could have made him eat that shotgun, but that was the price you paid for a normal life. The Joker didn't seem to notice us, too absorbed in scaring Rachel.

"Look at me." Rachel was still struggling to evade the Jokers grasp and to my horror I realised he still had the potato peeler out.

"So I had a wife, beautiful; like you. Who tells me, I worry too much. Who tells me, I ought to smile more. Who gambles, and gets in deep with sharks. One day they carve her face. We have no money for surgeries. She can't take it! I just want to see her smile again. I just want her to know that I don't care about the scars. So I stick a razor in my mouth and do this... to myself." He gestured towards his lips, licking them to prove his point.

"And you know what? She can't stand the sight of me! She leaves. Now I see the funny side. Now I'm always smiling!"

Rachel kicked him hard in the groin, something I was delighted with. He backed away a few steps, laughing before waving his knife at her.

"A little fight in you, I like that."

"Then you're going to love me." Batman had appeared next to him and his fist collided hard with the Jokers face. Instantly the idiots the Joker bought with him tried to mob the Batman, it didn't work out well for them.

Watching them fight I was struck with a feeling of familiarity. The way the Batman moved, the way his mouth moved when he spoke, even the colour of his eyes.

No. It couldn't be, could it? I ran through it in my head. The Batman made an appearance shortly after Bruce returned, Bruce did have a habit of leaving at night and with access to Wayne Enterprises R&D department the suit and car could be explained.

Shit. My brother was Batman. I sat up, suddenly much more emotionally invested in the fight when I realised it was my brother that the Joker was kicking. I realised there was no one standing around me so I climbed swiftly to my feet in time to watch Bruce throw the Joker off.

My eyes were drawn away from the brawl and towards the Joker who'd grabbed a gun and Rachel and was backing away towards a window.

"No." It was barely more than a whisper but the madman caught my eye and grinned at me.

"Rachel!" I was more forceful this time, causing Bruce to look up and follow my gaze.

"Drop the gun." I could tell he was furious at anyone threatening Rachel.

"Ooh, sure, you just take off your little mask and show us all who you really are. Hahaha." He shot the window behind him which shattered. I was immediately annoyed at Bruce not requesting bulletproof glass.

The Joker dragged Rachel towards the window, throwing her out but keeping a tight grip on her arm.

"Let her go." I glanced between Bruce and the Joker who seemed to find the whole situation hilarious.

"Very poor choice of words." He let go. I watched in horror as she fell through the gap, sliding down the glass roof, Bruce jumped straight after her and I too raced towards the window.

"Rachel!" I was screaming her name as I reached the window. I was running too fast and would have followed her out of the window if it weren't for a strong arm catching me around the waist and crushing me to a broad chest.

"Now there's that scream I was waiting for." The words were purred in my ear and I felt his hot breath across my bare shoulder.

"No." I was sobbing, my best friend and my brother had just fallen from a skyscraper and I had no I idea if they were alive or not.

"We're done here! Let's get moving." His arm was still around my waist and he began dragging me with him towards the elevator.

"What? No, let me go!" I struggled madly and a few of the male guests started forward as if to help me but they were stopped short by the sight of shotguns.

"Now now Kitten, let's not blow this out of proportion, you and I are going for a little trip that's all." His manic laughter suggested that he had something more than a trip in mind and I kept struggling until he threw me into the elevator. The last thing I saw was Alfred's face staring with shock and horror as one of the clowns warned him back with a shotgun.

The Joker hummed along to the elevator music, not releasing his grip on my waist as we descended. We finally reached the garage in the basement and he ordered the clowns to get in a black van and return to 'Base'. Then he turned to the Wayne private garage.

"So Kitten, which one's yours?" I froze immediately. There was no way in hell I was letting him touch my car.

"See because a little birdie tells me it's the black one." He laughed manically, pulling the keys off the hook and dragging me towards my car. I dug my heels in.

"No. Don't you dare touch my car you Son of a Bitch." He laughed again.

"That's not very nice, what's so special? Surely your brother can just get you a new one." I froze, instantly furious.

"That is a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera. Only 172 were ever produced, of those only 37 were black and that is the only one in the world with tinted windows. No, it can't be replaced so don't even think about driving it." He laughed; it seemed he laughed at everything.

"Don't worry Kitten, I'm not driving, you are." He tossed me my keys and I looked down at them in shock. I decided against arguing with him or he might decide to drive after all.

Strapping myself into the driver's seat I turned to him only to find him lounging back in the seat with his feet on the dash board. I hissed like an angry cat.

"Have you no respect?" He erupted into giggles causing me to rev the engine and turn back to the road.

"Where am I going?" My voice was slightly defeated and I was seriously considering ripping down the barriers and letting Lola out to play, it would certainly teach him a little respect to watch an 18 year old girl tear apart his ranks with ease. I couldn't though, not now that I knew Bruce was Batman, I couldn't think of anything more horrifying than having my own brother hunt me down.

He gave me instructions and we drove for a good half hour to the border of the city and he told me to turn into an abandoned apartment block. Stepping out of the car I yawned and stretched, turning around to ask him a question. Before I could get out the word 'What' he hit me hard in the face, knocking me unconscious.

I woke up, led on a king-sized bed still wearing my dress. The room around me was almost completely purple, one wall was covered in joker cards, another in little 'ha ha's everywhere in red paint. Creepy.

I felt blood crack on my face as I moved and I reached up to find a cut on my forehead. Luckily it wasn't deep enough to scar. Stumbling off the bed I found there were too doors in the room, one was slightly ajar and led to what looked like an on suite, the other was closed and turned out to be locked when I tried it.

Going back to the bathroom I looked myself over in the mirror. Aside from the blood I looked okay, my makeup was smudged but that didn't matter too much when you had smoky eyes, my hair was tousled and ringlets were falling out but that just made me look like I'd gone for the sexy look, which I hadn't.

I washed the blood from my face and turned to examine the room for possible weapons, there were none, I wasn't really surprised. Sighing I turned back to the room to find the Joker lounging on the bed. Shocked, I froze.

"Aren't you going to come and say hello?" I didn't move, I couldn't handle this situation, he was crazy and impulsive and impossible to predict, not to mention armed.

"COME HERE." The manic voice was back and I moved as fast as I could, sitting on the edge of the bed as far away from him as possible. He didn't like that. He grabbed my arm, dragging me to the centre of the bed and straddling me once again. I whimpered in shock and slight pain and he ran a gloved hand down my face.

"Awww, shhh, it's okay." He giggled again, both hands coming up to cradle my face. Then he kissed me.

It wasn't sweet or soft. It felt like he wanted to cause me as much pain as possible while demanding access to me. He ran his hands down my curves, hungrily pressing and squeezing. I squirmed beneath him, desperately trying to push him off. I bucked wildly which caused him to groan deeply into my mouth. I immediately stilled.

He pushed off me angrily.

"You're no fun if you don't play Kitten, and I get rid of boring things." I hissed at him.

"You don't want to play with me, I don't play nice with others." Lola's fury at being pinned down was pouring through the barriers and influencing what I said, but I couldn't blame her completely, my own pride forced me to fight back.

He giggled manically which seemed to be his response to everything,

"What could you possibly do in this little game that I wouldn't like?" I almost laughed at him, it was within my power to have him dead on the floor in under twenty minutes but I wouldn't, he wasn't worth that.

"You know, sometimes you remind me of a soldier. You stand proud and tall, never break eye contact, you've got a low centre of gravity and you never back down. Why is that Kitten? What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?" I glared angrily at him.

"You don't want to go into my head; you won't like what you find there." He looked at me quizzically, for once he wasn't laughing. Suddenly he pulled back a fist and hit me squarely in the face. I cried out.

"Well, I don't really care what's in your head as long as you keep making that noise." He climbed off me and walked over to the door.

"Be right back Kitten, don't get too comfortable." His idea of 'be right back' was approximately three hours. He finally returned, covered in blood with a pile of clothes in his arms, he promptly tossed them to me.

"Get changed Kitten, you must be freezing in that dress." I paused, why would he care if I was cold? He grinned at me.

"I like my women warm and struggling." I nearly gagged. I'd seen the news reports of almost a dozen women found dead, raped with a smile carved into their face. For some reason when the Joker kidnapped me that wasn't quite what I expected to happen, perhaps it'd be worth bringing Lola out to play to avoid that.

I looked down at the pile of clothes he'd passed to me, they looked like they belonged to an office worker moonlighting as a prostitute, there was a simple floral blouse that was ridiculously low cut and a pencil skirt that would barely cover my ass. I counted myself lucky that there was a pair of black tights and a cardigan in the bundle.

I looked back at the Joker, a little confused.

"Where did you get these?" I was almost afraid of the answer.

"Off a lovely woman we found in the Narrows, I liked her, she was a screamer." I froze, looking once again at the blood covering him and then down at the clothes.

"I'm not wearing a dead woman's clothes." My voice was shaking slightly; I didn't understand him, why did he keep going to all this trouble? Getting a human heart, finding me clothes, did he do this with all the girls he kidnapped?

"Awww, are they not to your liking Vivian? I can always find another girl to get clothes from, or a whole bunch of them, that way you could choose." I snatched up the clothes, holding them to my chest and raced to the bathroom. That man was sick.

**Okay, I haven't finished the next chapter yet but it's in the works, hang about and keep reading.**

**CF.**


	5. Muses of a Madman

*****MATURE THEMES*****

**I am so sorry about the wait, I sort of got writers block, I'm hoping to add another chapter to One of a Kind soon as well. Anyway here it is, I'm going to warn you, it gets pretty dark, but hopefully you'll like it ;D Also I don't own Batman, if you recognise them, they aren't mine.**

**-xCFx-**

I laughed loudly as I watched her scurry off into the bathroom. I was tempted to order her to strip in front of me but there'd be plenty of time for that later, for the moment I needed to sort out my little message for the Batman.

It took me six hours to coerce the editor of the Gotham Times into putting in that article, then I had to find two idiots with the names 'Dent' and 'Harvey', kill them and arrange the apartment just right. It was dark by the time I returned and I expected little Vivian to be asleep, instead I found her curled up on the floor by the bed, staring at the door.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked. She glared up at me.

"Aside from the kidnapping, molesting and carjacking?" Her eyes were almost broken and it hurt a little to see something so fierce brought down. I shrugged at her.

"I'm hungry." Her voice was actually quite weak and I realised it was over a day since she'd been fed. I cocked my head, usually the girls I dragged back with me weren't alive long enough for starvation to set in.

I held my hand out to help her up but she just stared at it like she'd never seen one before. I tutted at her, hauling her up by her arms and dragging her out of the room into the rest of the apartment.

"Sit." I nodded towards a breakfast bar and watched as she sat nervously down on it, she kept glancing around the room like something was odd about it.

"What do pretty posh girls eat?" Her eyes met mine again and she seemed to summon the strength to raise an eyebrow.

"The same thing as ugly posh girls." I laughed at her, she had a dry, sarcastic sense of humour which I found refreshing as I spent most of my time with stupid idiots. Necessary stupid idiots I reminded myself.

I set a glass of orange juice down in front of her but she made no effort to pick it up, instead she chose to stare at it.

"You don't like orange juice?"

"I like orange juice just fine, I just have a horrible feeling that if I go to pick it up you'll knock it out my hand, or something equally as childish." It was my turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Drink the orange juice." I told her, before searching the cupboards for something edible.

It took me a while but I finally came across some pop tarts and I threw them into the toaster for her.

"Careful, they burn really easily." I spun around a little shocked, she'd drunk the entire glass of orange juice and was now staring at me.

"You've had pop tarts before?" Somehow this didn't fit into my idea of her charmed, perfect life.

"Yes, the doorman sneaks them in for me because Alfred refuses to allow them in the apartment."

I giggled at the idea of the old butler before pulling the pastries out of the toaster and slamming them down on the bar before her. She jumped a little but began wolfing the hot snacks down.

"Thank-you." I'd been idly throwing a potato up and down while she ate but the moment she spoke I lost interest and the vegetable hit the floor.

"You're thanking me? You are an odd one aren't you?" I approached her slowly, menacingly, until there was only the breakfast bar between us. I was suddenly furious. Why was there no fear in her eyes? It seemed until you actually hurt her she was comfortable in most situations unless they involved sex.

I pulled back my fist and punched her once again, giggling madly with laughter as she fell backwards of the stool. I vaulted over the breakfast bar and hauled her up by the shoulders, spinning her around until her back collided with the wall.

"Why aren't you scared little Kitten?" I slapped her with my open hand.

"WHY AREN'T YOU SCARED?" I roared at her before punching her again.

"I am scared." She was almost sobbing and I immediately hated the sound. Her cries were delicious but these broken sobs were so ordinary that they didn't fit her at all.

I cut her off by pressing my lips to hers. Usually, if I wanted a girl as much as I wanted little Vivian I'd have raped her, mutilated her and killed her by now. Not necessarily in that order. As it was, the idea of seeing the light die in those big blue eyes was repulsive. As a rule, I wasn't a man with a plan so I decided to just go with it and see where it got me.

I hoisted her up the wall, pinning her there with my hips, driving my erection into her soft thigh. She gasped and I used the opportunity to slide my tongue into her mouth, she tasted of cherries and I bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, sweeping my tongue along the small cut. This was going too far.

I stepped back which cause her to slide down the wall looking shocked and deliciously scared.

"Come along Kitten, we're going to bed." She froze.

"No." It was barely a whisper and there was complete terror in her eyes. I knew what she was afraid of, she was afraid I was going to have my wicked way with her. I would too, but not tonight, tonight she could barely stand and would probably pass out, and when I took her I wanted to hear her scream.

I reached down and grabbed her by the wrists, I tried pulling her up but she refused to stand so I all but dragged her into the bedroom. I threw her on the floor at the foot of the bed and flicked a knife open.

I crouched down by her head, running the knife down her face. For a moment I simply watched the way the blade moved on her skin but she whimpered slightly and I snapped out of it. I stepped back leaving her led on the floor and looked down at her.

"Strip." The order was short and simply yet she still didn't jump to it. I growled at her.

"No." It was sheer pride that gave her the strength to say that. I changed tack, smiling manically.

"Oh come now Kitten, either you can strip or I can rip the clothes off you but then I'd have to find another girl to supply you with clothes for tomorrow. It's your choice I guess."

I was delighted with that idea. I was offering her a choice. She could let me rape her, or let me kill a stranger. Well I wasn't going to rape her, but she didn't know that.

Her eyes met mine, absolutely furious; I could literally see the pride burning there, at war with all her compassion. She stood slowly, her eyes never leaving mine. I admit I was surprised, I expected her to curl up, cry and avoid the choice.

She slowly pulled her blouse up, pulling it over her head and dropping it to the floor. I felt my cock jerk immediately to attention, her skin was pale and creamy and her heaving chest was straining against a black strapless bra.

She bent down and pulled her skirt and then her tights off revealing lacy black panties. My eyes travelled up her body to her face. Her chin was held high and her eyes had a hard, defiant edge to them. I approached her slowly, my resolve not to rape her tonight disappearing fast.

I reached up to her hair and pulled the pins out, allowing the loose curls to fall around her shoulders. I trailed my hand softly through her hair before turning my grip harsh. She gasped as I tugged her towards me, whispering in her ear.

"Don't move." I stepped around her and entered the bathroom. I washed the make up from my face and pulled my purple coat off as well as my green waistcoat.

When I returned she had moved, but only slightly, she was facing the bathroom door now instead of away from it and backed away when I stalked towards her. I stopped to pull by braces down and my shirt off while her eyes followed my every movement, constantly wary.

"Lose the bra." Her eyes instantly met mine, furious and terrified at the same time. She hissed at me, it really did sound like a cat and I had a vague recollection of hearing her do it before. I continued getting undressed without breaking eye contact with her. Eventually I was down to my boxers and she still hadn't removed her bra.

I raised an eyebrow at her and her stubborn streak seemed to suddenly disappear, replaced with a mask of disinterest as she removed her bra.

She stood before me in only her panties, with a look of such boredom on her face that it made me sick to even look at.

"Oh no you don't Princess; if you put on a mask I'll take it as a challenge and do everything in my power to break it. Including dragging innocent little people into here and showing you their insides. I wonder how long your precious butler would last under torture…."

She hissed and jumped forwards, eyes burning.

"You touch him and I will destroy you in ways you've never dreamed possible you sadistic bastard."

It was her insult that got me thinking, she'd thrown a couple at me since we'd met but they weren't the usual ones. She didn't call me 'freak' or 'crazy' or 'psycho', in fact, she didn't really seem to care that I dressed as a clown as long as I didn't hurt her or the people she loved.

I turned back to the furious blonde.

"Now then, that's a little better." She was angry, but she still didn't look scared. Was she scared?

I grabbed her by the arms and flung her down on the bed causing her head to collide hard with the headboard and leaving her a little dazed. I flopped down beside her.

"You best not steal all the covers." I grinned as I switched the lamp of and pulled the covers over us. Wrapping my arms around her, I could feel her heart racing in her chest. Turns out she was scared, my lips spread into a smile in the darkness.

-xCFx-

I kicked the door open so hard it bounced back off the wall with an echoing crack. I scanned the room for the little Kitten but I saw nothing. I growled out in anger, storming towards the bathroom door which was closed, fortunately there was no lock so I just walked right in.

She must have heard me kicking the door because she was facing me when I walked in; stood in the shower cubical with her arms trying to cover as much of herself as possible. It didn't work.

I smiled appreciatively. This was exactly what I needed, that haughty Mayor had gone and survived on me, my plan was temporarily set back and the Batman was still running around asking questions.

But none of that mattered right then because she was soaking wet, completely naked and staring at me with big terrified eyes.

I pulled off my coat and jacket as I stalked towards her and she scrambled backwards, her back hitting the wall.

"Well little Kitten, did you miss me?" I wrapped my fingers around the back of her neck, pulling her closer to me until we were millimetres apart.

"Because I missed you Princess, I missed you a lot." She flinched away from me and I cackled loudly before crushing her lips to mine.

I moaned as I forced my way into her mouth, she was warm and soft, caught between my body and the wall. She began bucking and squirming, trying to get away from me, but all it achieved was to get me excited.

"No. Stop! Please Stop!" She was still struggling when I stepped backwards and she sighed in relief. It was cruel, even for me to give her that moment of hope only to take it away again. But the look of complete terror on her face when I dragged her into the bedroom and threw her on the bed was too good to miss.

"Now then Princess, if you're really, really good I'll give you a lollipop when it's all over." She scrambled backwards without taking her eyes off me but I grabbed her by the ankle and dragged her back down the bed.

I climbed on top of her, once again straddling her legs and pinning her arms down. I began kissing and biting my way down her neck onto her heaving chest while she struggled desperately. I reached a nipple, hardened by the cold and blew lightly on it. She stopped struggling.

"W-What are you doing?" I grinned before latching my teeth around it and biting down hard. She screamed. A pealing, ringing sound that cut through the room and sent jolts of pleasure ringing through my body. It was beautiful.

Her body arched off the bed and into mine as she jolted in shock and pain. I released her nipple and grinned up at her.

"That's a beautiful scream Princess, now what do I have to do to get to hear it again?" She just stared at me with big terrified eyes, still struggling and squirming. I adjusted myself and forced one of my knees between her legs, pushing them open.

"No! Stop!" She sat up desperately scrabbling to be free but I grabbed her by the neck with one hand and forced her back down to the mattress. Tears were flowing freely from her eyes and she looked so pretty beneath me. The perfect picture of terror.

I began undoing my trousers with my free hand, grinning happily as her eyes widened further. Suddenly she closed her eyes and began whispering quietly.

"Please Lola, help me. Please Lo, I really need you right now, help me. Please help me I'm begging you." I raised an eyebrow, who the hell was Lola? She'd opened her eyes again and was looking at me in complete despair which just got me more excited than ever.

I ran a hand down her side and over her thigh until I reached the blonde curls guarding her core. Flashing her a manic smile I shoved my hand between her thighs and stroked down until I found her entrance.

"I don't think anyone is coming to save you Kitten." I told her and thrust a finger into her. Dear God she was tight. Tight and burning hot. I added another finger and pushed deeper. As I felt the barrier I burst out laughing.

"You're a virgin!" I cackled loudly, it didn't get any better than this. It actually explained a lot. Her fear of sex when she was scared of almost nothing else, it also made sense considering her age and upbringing; she was probably saving herself for a rich husband, isn't that what posh people did?

But it was like a switched flipped behind her eyes, gone was the terror, and instead replaced with a cold fury.

One hand shot out, catching my elbow at its weak point and forcing me to release her throat. She then swung her elbow around so it collided with my nose before kneeing me in the groin. I collapsed on top of her, the burning pain making my eyes water.

She flipped us over so she was straddling me and put both hands on my neck. As I looked into her eyes I was certain that for whatever reason, this wasn't the Vivian Wayne I knew, and she wouldn't hesitate to break my neck.

Fortunately for me, the cold fury was gone as suddenly as it arrived and Vivian rolled off the bed, collapsing on the floor with her head in her hands, panting for breath. I sat up.

"Want to explain what the hell that was Kitten?" she just stared back at me terrified and shook her head.

"You attacked me, I defended myself." I glared at her angrily, I didn't like her lying.

"That was more than just defending yourself Kitten; you were all set to make my head do a 180."

"You were trying to rape me; I was well within my rights!"

"But well out of character. What are you hiding in that pretty head? And where did you learn to fight like that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about; I can't fight to save my life." She shouted back.

The door bursting open distracted us from our argument and one of the idiot lackeys walked in. I roared angrily at him and stepped in front of Vivian's still naked form. The idiot looked shocked and confused but averted his eyes anyway.

"I'm sorry Boss but it's the Batman. The news says he's going to turn himself in." My anger didn't disappear but it was lessened considerably by his news which made me want to dance around.

"What?" I turned to see Vivian looking physically scared at the idea. I gave her a strange look before turning back to the lackey.

"Get out." I told him and he scampered off as fast as his short legs could carry him. I turned back to a shocked Vivian and grinned happily.

"YES!" I picked her up and spun her around before setting her back on her feet and kissing her harshly. She didn't even struggle, she just looked dazed by the news that Batman was turning himself in.

"I'll be right back."

I darted out of the room, locking it behind me and walked out of the apartment into the one next door that the idiots lived in. As I walked in I heard idiot number 1 (Was his name Tyler? Oh who cares?) talking loudly in that aggravating voice.

"I mean, it's not like the boss that is it? Usually he likes parading them around, degrading them before using them. He's never bothered in the past if we've seen the girls, sometimes he even lets us fuck 'em if he thinks they're boring. So what's different with this one?"

"Maybe he likes her?" That was idiot number three piping up.

"Yeah right, besides, they looked like they were getting in to it and it did not look like it was consensual." Idiot number two, who'd felt the need to come barging into my room also seemed to feel the need to describe it to the others.

"Maybe she's ugly or something and the boss is embarrassed." Idiot 3 guessed.

"Nah, Vivian Wayne? I've seen her in the papers, she's a looker, I'd certainly like to-"

Whatever idiot number 1 would like to do to Vivian was cut off by not so idiotic number 6.

"Maybe you should all shut the hell up; the boss can do what he likes. It's none of our business."

For a moment there was silence before idiot number 5 felt the need to continue the conversation.

"Maybe he's playing mind games with her, you know acting nice."

"Or maybe he's just not fond of the idea of a group of fucking morons gawking at what's his." As I spoke from the corner they all shot out of their seats and began apologising as fast as they could apart from 6 who just shook his head and placed it in his hands.

"Now then, I'm going to say this once and only once. Stay the hell away from the girl. You're only to enter that room under two circumstances. A. I'm out and you think she's escaping. B. I'm dead, in which case I want you to go in there and put a bullet in her head. If anyone so much as looks at her funny….. well, I'm going to see to it that they leave here in little pieces. Do I make myself clear?"

They all started nodding and agreeing with me vigorously.

"Good. Ooh, vodka." I sat down on the couch and took a swig from the bottle.

"Now then, who wants to tell me what's happening with Batman?" I pointed at 6.

"I'd like to hear it from a face I don't want to punch if you'd please." 6 smiled in agreement before picking up a sheet of paper from the table.

"According to the news, Batman contacted DA Harvey dent to inform him that he'd reveal his true identity. This is presumably a result of the death of supposed ally James Gordon who took the bullets for the mayor. Dent has called a press conference for 10 am tomorrow morning in which Batman is supposedly going to reveal himself. That's in less than 7 hours."

I grinned happily, less than 7 hours. I couldn't wait. I approached 6, flicking open the switchblade in my pocket. He looked mildly uneasy but stood his ground. I touched the point to his neck before flipping it in the air and catching it by the blade. I presented the hilt to 6 who took the knife warily.

"I'm putting you in charge of these morons. Try to stop them from being so infuriating will you?"

I skipped back to the room and unlocked the door. Vivian was sat on the bed and looked at me warily.

"Oh, no need to be scared little kitten, I have an early start tomorrow. I have to be up in time to watch Batman be arrested." She went white.

"It's not true is it? He's not really turning himself in is he?" I just grinned at her.

"Oh pretty Vivian. Your hero's going to be arrested, and then I'm going to kill him." She just stared at me blankly.

"Now come on, I'm tired and you're sat on my side of the bed."

-xCFx-

**OOOOOOOOOH This ending would be a whole lot more dramatic if we hadn't all seen the film :/ ah well. It wasn't as long as the last one, but I actually like how this one worked out a little better than the others. Well, if you see any spelling errors point them out for me please.**

**CF.**


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